Spirit of Pride
by kikispeachdelivery
Summary: Thermite proposes Fuze to go to the local Pride parade, but Fuze only feels panic at the idea. (Written for the "Ops at Pride" event from DualRainbow)


**Spirit of Pride**

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**Author's note:** Written for the "Ops at Pride" event from DualRainbow at Tumblr

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The question caught him by surprise. Perhaps Fuze hadn't been paying that much attention to Thermite, as he was busy dismantling his latest prototype of the cluster charge, intent on finding why it didn't work out as intended. However, he'd been following the thread of Thermite's ramblings, and the question really seemed to come out of the blue.

Tearing his gaze away from the pieces scattered on the bench, Fuze looked at the American before uttering a single word answer. "No."

"Okay, no problem," Thermite said after a second, before focusing back on the task at hand.

It was a relief for Fuze that Thermite understood his negative. He wasn't ready for rainbow flags and parades. Going from keeping his feelings quiet to outright pride was quite a leap, and Fuze was just starting to slowly bridge that abyss. In fact, he didn't even tell his friends about his relationship with the American, they just pieced it all together from the small clues they found. He still remembered the knot of dread in his stomach when Tachanka asked, in his usual blunt fashion, why he was spending so much time with Thermite. In hindsight, all those doubts had been baseless his teammates supported him, but it was still a huge relief to have such confirmation.

Disassembling the cluster charge frame didn't offer any insight about why it wasn't working, and after some quiet curses and asking Thermite for his opinion, the American suggested maybe the explosives themselves were faulty. He promised to run some tests of his own later and excused himself citing a training exercise with the rest of the FBI. His departure left Fuze feeling unsettled, and it took him five minutes of sulking to understand why: there had been no goodbye kiss.

It was one of Thermite's strange quirks; since everyone at the base knew they were together, he would always press a kiss on Fuze's face before leaving anywhere. At first Fuze had been slightly embarrassed by it, but after some time it became as normal and second nature as breathing, almost. Thermite's hasty retreat and the lack of a kiss led Fuze to believe the American was upset that he didn't want to go to Pride. Well, it wasn't that much of a big deal; if Thermite really wanted to go, he could go with a friend, right?

Fuze got back to work, comparing piece by piece the new prototype to an old model of the cluster charge, hoping to find the solution to his problem. However, he kept getting distracted. The workshop was always a noisy place, but today most of its usual occupants seemed to be more interested in gossiping than working. He highly doubted Twitch and Mira would giggle like they did at the moment if they were talking about technical work.

"I can't believe I convinced Taina!" Twitch sounded giddy and excited, and Fuze wondered what was the happy occasion. "We'll get matching face paint for it, she'll do mine too."

"Madrid's Pride was always great. Chaotic but amazing," Mira answered. "I suppose Herefordshire's will be smaller but no less fun."

This was what all the fuss was about? Fuze still couldn't comprehend why it was so important for so many people to go to the damned parade. It was impossible for him to feel excited about a celebration that, back home, he had always seen in the news with the participants being arrested.

Despite things not being the same here, Fuze still had trouble reconciling Pride with actual positive thoughts.

"Mark! Is it true that James plans to go dressed as a pink leopard?" Twitch asked to Smoke, distracting the young man from his work. Oddly enough, he didn't seem to mind, and eagerly told them about Smoke's love of the abominable pink fursuit and how Mute had helped him create that thing.

Would Thermite want to dress up if they went to the parade? Fuze wouldn't put it past him; and being honest, his goofy side was one of the traits that Fuze loved about the American. It only made him more endearing, especially when his friends started rolling their eyes at Thermite's antics. The more Fuze thought about the Pride issue, the more doubts assailed him. Seeing as antisocial characters like Mute and Caveira planned to go with their partners, Fuze started to doubt if there was more significance to it than he imagined. He hoped he hadn't inadvertently implied that he was ashamed of Thermite or something similar, because that couldn't be further from the truth.

Upon realizing he'd been examining the same pieces over and over for five minutes, without even noticing what he had been doing, Fuze decided it was time to admit he wouldn't get any work done. He put away everything and walked past the circle of merry gossips, which now included IQ and Jäger as well. On another occasion he might have joined them, staying at the fringe of the group but still part of it. Not today, though; he didn't want to ruin their fun.

On the corridor he crossed paths with Ash, so either the FBI training excuse had been a lie, or it was already over. However, instead of going to find Thermite and tackle the issue head on, he went to find his friends. Not that Fuze would admit he looked up to them and how they managed their relationship, but he did. If Glaz and Kapkan hadn't come out to their friends, he would have never gathered the courage to accept Thermite's attention like he did. Doubts of all kinds still swam around his head, and for once he preferred to seek a second opinion on the matter before going for a confrontation.

He found Glaz and Kapkan together, of course, outside the base. The sniper was sitting on a bench, sketching something, and Kapkan sat on the ground between Glaz's legs while he whittled a piece of wood. Never one to beat around the bush, Fuze asked right away.

"What would you do if your partner wanted you to go to Pride?"

Glaz stopped drawing to look at him with curiosity, while Kapkan nearly sliced part of his finger before staring up at him with barely disguised panic. The hunter clearly had the same doubts Fuze had, and took a fleeting look at Glaz before speaking.

"Well…"

"Sounds like it could be fun," Glaz interrupted him, "but I don't like big crowds. So unless Maxim truly wanted to go, I'd pass."

The hunter's smile was both grateful and relieved, and Fuze watched how an adoring expression bloomed on Glaz's face when Kapkan said he would make an effort to go if it was important for Glaz. With his ideas as tangled as before, Fuze ditched his friends, who were too busy making bedroom eyes at each other to notice his departure. Damn, he forgot how disgustingly adorable they could be. This had been of no help. Forget about getting advice the best solution was to just clear up the issue with Thermite himself.

He went to the explosives lab, or the 'boom room' as his dork boyfriend called it. That's where Thermite worked most of the time, along with Hibana and Ash. Fuze himself also came here often, lately even more so. Blowing things up was a fun way to spend time with his partner, while technically still being work. However, Fuze suspected the room was empty from the second he saw the lights were out. He went looking for Thermite in the other places he usually could be found at, yet he wasn't either in the gym, nor with his American teammates, neither with Bandit nor Kapkan. Just where the fuck was Thermite? Fuze searched all the base; including training grounds, and the storage room, and the basement. Thermite was nowhere to be found. He was about to go knock on his room's door, out of ideas, when he was approached by none other than Pulse.

"What do you want?" Fuze barked at him.

It wasn't that he hated the other man, they just barely ever interacted either. Besides, Pulse often looked at him like Fuze was a riddle he was trying to solve for one of his ridiculous crossword puzzles. And as always, Pulse seemed either completely unfazed or oblivious to Fuze's discomfort.

"I think my heartbeat sensor is broken."

Fuze blinked, unsure of what Pulse actually wanted from him. "Okay?"

"Well, Jordan always says you're great with tech, I thought you could help me maybe."

That was surprising, to say the least. Fuze wanted to tell him he had no idea how his sensor worked and that he would be better off asking IQ or Jäger or Mira, but Pulse was already ranting about how it didn't work during his last training session and yet would beep randomly when he wasn't even using it, which gave away his position and made him unfairly lose the round. It was impossible for Fuze to get in a word, since Pulse just kept talking and talking, so Fuze just dumbly followed him until they reached the workshop. Deciding it would be best to get over with this as soon as possible, Fuze interrupted Pulse's seemingly never-ending rant.

"Let's start with a simple test first. Where is the sensor?"

"Oh, in my room." Pulse's answer made Fuze want to strangle him, but he settled for glaring at him, unimpressed. "I'll go pick it up, just a moment!"

No way he would wait for him. Most probably this was what people referred to when they said he needed to improve his social skills, but Fuze didn't give a fuck. He would have half-assed some tests for the gadget if it had been here, but now that he had an opportunity to escape he would seize it. He'd glimpsed Finka passing by the corridor, going probably to the gym, and he'd rather have a nice sparring session with her.

By dinner time, Thermite appeared again, acting as if nothing weird had happened. He sat with the Russians, by Fuze's side, and carried on a lively conversation as always, with Kapkan playing along in his argument of which superpower would be the most useless one. Fuze wanted to believe it all had been a misunderstanding, wouldn't be the first time it happened; and when Thermite squeezed his knee under the table's cover, Fuze let himself fully believe everything was back to normal.

They spent the night in his room, instead of Thermite's as usual. Cuddling together and watching old sci-fi series on Netflix was the best part of the day, and not because Fuze particularly liked what they watched. However, it was the perfect excuse for holding each other close, since the bed wasn't that big. Their peace was broken when a loud moan rang above the voices of Captain Kirk and crew, making them look at each other awkwardly before Thermite burst out laughing.

"Is this why you prefer to come to my room?" Thermite asked while he tried to reign in his giggles.

"The walls are thin," Fuze explained. "And they are very loud."

He had the misfortune of having his room next to Glaz's, and his teammates truly were loud and enthusiastic about their activities. Thermite paused the video and looked at him with a smile Fuze had come to associate with trouble.

"Do you want to combat fire with fire?" The question came accompanied by a waggle of his eyebrows, and while it wasn't Thermite's best attempt at seduction, Fuze accepted the offer. Time for his revenge and see who was louder.

* * *

Waking up to an empty bed was something Fuze knew that was unavoidable sometimes, but since the little note on the nightstand just read "_See you later! XOXO"__,_ Fuze didn't worry about it. If there was an emergency he would have been awoken too, or the note would have more details than that.

It was later than usual, and when Fuze came down for breakfast he was surprised to find the base mostly empty. Between the people on missions and the ones who had already left to enjoy their day off at the parade, the base looked like an abandoned place. Glaz was the only one still sitting at their usual table in the mess hall, a cup of probably cold coffee by his side, working on something on his sketchbook. He ate quickly and in silence, and just as he was about to leave, Glaz stopped him.

"Can you help me with something?"

It was rare that his friend would request such a thing, and curiosity made Fuze say yes. He wasn't prepared for Glaz whipping out two identical sketches and asking him which he thought was better. The sniper never asked for Fuze's advice, or anyone else's for that matter, when it came to his art.

"Both look the same," Fuze replied bluntly.

He was baffled when Glaz insisted he look at it better, since he wanted to improve his skills and really needed to know. Unsure whether the sniper was just messing with him, but unable to find any trace of duplicity in his impressive poker face, Fuze just pointed at one of the sketches at random and then beat a hasty retreat. That had been weird.

Barely out of the canteen, Jäger approached him, babbling excitedly about an idea he had to solve the problem Fuze had with his cluster charges. He thought the German engineer would be at Pride with Bandit, so it was a pleasant surprise to find him still at the base and ready to go to the workshop. It was always productive to work alongside Jäger. And even if he tended to over-explain things and talk too much, Fuze still considered him the closest thing to a friend he had outside of his Russian teammates.

He spent the rest of the morning happily working on his cluster charges, only regretting for a moment that he didn't get to make those explosive tests with Thermite as the American suggested yesterday. However, the important part was that his new prototype was now working as it should. Satisfied with the result, he shelved the project until he could test the prototype again, and instead went to look for Thermite. It was odd he hadn't seen him yet, if both had the day free they usually spent their time together. And as Fuze soon realised, Thermite was once again nowhere to be found.

In fact, there was nobody to be found. Logically, he knew the few people who remained on base would be scattered doing their own things and enjoying their free time, but it felt like he was the last man standing on Earth. Or at least in Hereford. In the unusual silence, he heard a thumping noise, faint but clear. He followed the sound and was about to enter the TV room when the noise stopped, replaced by a hiss and a stream of curses. Fairly certain that Thermite was the one inside the room, Fuze opened the door and strode in.

"What is going on?"

It was a perfectly valid question, seeing as there was a rainbow flag half nailed to the wall, the couches had been rearranged into a different position, and Thermite was nursing his hand as if he had hurt his fingers. The hammer on his other hand was most probably the culprit.

"You weren't supposed to find out yet," Thermite answered, pouting like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Find out what?" Fuze narrowed his eyes, still not understanding completely what was Thermite planning.

"Well, since you don't wanna go to Pride, I thought I would bring Pride to you, you know? A taste of its spirit without all the people." Thermite was spinning the hammer in his hand, as he did with pens when he was nervous about something. "You could call it an alternative for the people who isn't ready for the parade yet."

Okay, he wasn't expecting that. It was clear Pride was important for Thermite, and this was a nice and thoughtful gesture. Seeing as Thermite was looking expectantly at him, Fuze forced himself to answer something. "You prepared all this in just a day?"

"Yeah!" Thermite beamed at him, and he looked adorable in all his enthusiasm. It was contagious, and Fuze was starting to like the idea more and more. "I had to enlist the help of Dom and Marius, and Max and Timur. Mostly to gather stuff and keep you distracted. Jack too, he owed me a favour."

That explained much about this morning and yesterday's evening. In all honesty, Fuze already imagined Kapkan and Bandit would be somehow involved, since they were all friends with Thermite and backed up each other's ideas, even when those were dumb as hell. Not that this was the case.

"What's the plan, then?"

Dropping the hammer on the nearest couch, Thermite gestured at the room. "This is our rainbow space, no shame allowed here. The parade will be on the TV, we talk about whatever we want and drink colourful drinks. Oh, and let's not forget the water guns filled with body glitter! We could have a friendly shooting competition."

That last point seemed like it could quickly become a complete disaster, like when the nerf gun competition got out of control and took over the whole base, only more glittery this time. He should have imagined Thermite would have the best ideas for entertainment, that also skirted the line between genius and madness. Overall, this little Pride party was a good idea. Such a small gesture, but it was freeing knowing he didn't have to hide anything for a few hours. He couldn't be the only one in Rainbow who was making his way out of the shadows, or the closet, and this was the perfect stepping stone for those who still didn't feel comfortable enough yet to go to the parade. It could help them all feel less isolated, knowing they had not only supporters and allies but also people who truly understood them within reach. And Thermite had done all of this for _him. _

In that moment Fuze felt proud of the American. Perhaps that was the key, before he could revel in Pride, he first had to be proud of every little achievement. Thank goodness Thermite made it so easy to be proud of him, despite all his silly ideas and terrible jokes. Or maybe it was thanks to it. Fuze took a step forward and grabbed him by the shoulders, roughly bringing Thermite closer for a kiss. Unlike the shy and reluctant displays of affection they shared in public, this time Fuze kept kissing him even when Bandit burst in, carrying an armful of bottles, and whistled at them. It was fine, today was all about having the freedom to be themselves. And if in the future Fuze decided to venture further away from his comfort zone, he knew he would have Thermite by his side, which made the idea a little less overwhelming. He might not have any positive memories about Pride so far, but this was the perfect moment to build them, surrounded by his partner and friends.


End file.
